Being poor is not equivalent to being dishonest or criminal and I don’t know why you would want to insult the Guyanese, or the Russians and Italians for that matter. The people in Suriname are just as poor and I didn’t have to worry about that kind of thing to anywhere near the same degree in the places I lived in and visited. That is not to say that Surinaamers are more honest or worthy. It’s just that there are hot spots of crime in any country. Unfortunately getting mugged in Georgetown is a common tale, certainly in the early 90s. I certainly was well warned about it in Paramaribo when people found out my travel plans. For the record, I don’t “flash” my camera around on purpose. As I said, I simply forgot I was wearing it in all of the excitement of the trip – yes, the Kaieteur Falls ARE wonderful. It was getting late just before dusk and I think this is a potentially high risk time for getting mugged. And I suspect that as a lone female I was a target anyway. I wouldn’t have been out there by choice at that time but it was the time that the tour got back and I was the only one staying at my particular hotel on that tour.
I have wandered around Georgetown in the early morning with a camera with no problem.